Archive for October, 2016

Rex Clementine, in the Island, 24 October 2016, where the title runs “King Herath leads Sri Lanka”Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has been bestowed with the rare honour of leading Sri Lanka in Test cricket after captain Angelo Mathews was ruled out of the tour of Zimbabwe with a calf strain yesterday. Herath, the 38-year-old 73 Test veteran is the most experienced cricketer in international cricket. He is also the only current international cricketer to have made his Test debut in the last millennium. He will become the 14th man to lead Sri Lanka in Test cricket and only the second spinner after D.S. de Silva.

Pic from Guardian

“I am absolutely delighted with this honour,” Herath told The Island. “Chairman of Selectors Sanath Jayasuriya called me up today and informed that Angelo has been ruled out of the series and that I will have to step in as captain,” Herath added. “Having said that, these are difficult circumstances having lost two of our leading players. Both Angelo and Chandi have done remarkably well for us over the years,” Herath further said. Read the rest of this entry ?

Jim Maxwell, in The Weekend Australian 29 October 2016, where the title is “The Pain of Losing My Mate Roebers,”... with emphasis added by the Editor, Thuppahi,

I have lost count of how many times I have cleared my throat and welcomed people to a Test match, but that morning at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg I struggled. It was the most difficult broadcast of my life. I can turn on a microphone and talk for hours when the covers are on and the rain is falling, but this was a situation I had never encountered.

I’d lost one of my best friends. Colleague and commentator Peter Roebuck was gone. He’d jumped out the window of our Cape Town hotel a few days before. Jumped just moments after I had left his room.

I was doing OK, but it was a battle. I tried to shut out emotion and concentrate on the job at hand. He’d have scoffed at me for being so maudlin. I got on with the show.

Ever the internationalist, he disliked nationalism and cheerleading. He was judgmental and decisive in making a point. He took up Australian citizenship. I remember asking what it was like being an Australian. He said: “Being Australian is sitting up the front of the taxi cab, never taking the back seat.” He saw Australia as a country that was striving, vibrant and challenging. Read the rest of this entry ?

Cricket at Its Best ! Close fought Encounters swinging This Way and That Way! Making nonsense of the Two-Tier Plans of the Mighty!

England beat Bangladesh by just 22 runs in the First Test at CHIITAGONG earlier 20-24th October

Bangladesh beat England by 108 runs in the Second Test at Mirpur — a difference that was not developed till late in the day because England were 99 for no wickets at one point and the game was in the balance THEN.

Mehedi Hasan Mirza was Man of the Match after taking 6 for 82 at in innings one (at 2.92) and 6 for 77 (at. 3.58) in innings two

George Dobell,courtesy of ESPNcricinfo, where the title is “Joe Root’s illness puts focus on ball-cleaning role”

England are facing an anxious wait to see ifJoe Root will be able to take any further part in the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka. Root was forced off the pitch during the evening session of day two after complaining of an upset stomach. He was subsequently isolated from the rest of the squad to limit any chance of contagion, driven back to the hotel on his own and confined to his room.While the team management are hopeful that a night’s sleep will help Root make a swift recovery, they will be anxious to see how he is on Sunday morning. Such is England’s reliance upon him, their chances of chasing down their fourth-innings target on a demanding Dhaka pitch will be substantially diminished if he is rendered unavailable.

Chandradāsa Brahammana Rālalāgē Lahiru Sudesh Kumāra is representing Sri Lanka at the highest level today at Harare, aged 19 Plus … Quite a mouthful for foreign commentators, Eh! Pity that Ritchie Benaud is not around to struggle with his name in full monty. Lahiru Kumara burst into prominence during the Under 19 tour of England earlier this year and the plethora of injuries among our senior pacemen has opened the door for him to make his debut in the First Test vs Zimbabwe.

Sri Lankan cricketer Lahiru Kumara delivers a ball during a practice session at The Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium in Dambulla on August 30, 2016.-Photo credit should read ISHARA S.KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images)

Brydon Coverdale, courtesy of ESPNcricinfo, October 2016, where the title runs “ Mitchell Johnson’s ups and downs”

Mitchell Johnson‘s new autobiography, Resilient, tells of a man who overcame serious injuries and significant self-doubts to become one of cricket’s most fearsome fast bowlers. Johnson takes readers on the rollercoaster ride that was his career. Along the way, Johnson…

…Recalls how he was plucked from obscurity by Dennis Lillee

As a kid, Johnson had been more interested in tennis than cricket, but by 17 he was rattling a few batsmen in Townsville’s club cricket. His own club, The Wanderers, paid his airfare to travel to Brisbane for a pace-bowling camp at which Dennis Lillee would be one of the coaches. It took only three balls for Lillee to identify Johnson as a “once-in-a-generation” quick; immediately and excitedly, he phoned Rod Marsh at the Academy in Adelaide. “I’ve found one,” Lillee said. Only once before had he rung Marsh with a similar comment. On that occasion the bowler had been Brett Lee.

As a rare cricketer who had not come through the age-group system, Johnson had no idea how his life was about to change: “The next day I flew back to Brisbane and caught a plane across the country to Adelaide. It was the first time I had ever been outside of Queensland.”

Mitchell Johnson of Australia talks with Australian coach Mickey Arthur during an Australian training session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 24, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)